EP2664076B1 - Crosstalk limitation between modems - Google Patents

Crosstalk limitation between modems Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2664076B1
EP2664076B1 EP11855426.0A EP11855426A EP2664076B1 EP 2664076 B1 EP2664076 B1 EP 2664076B1 EP 11855426 A EP11855426 A EP 11855426A EP 2664076 B1 EP2664076 B1 EP 2664076B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
modems
group
sequence
modem
communication line
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EP11855426.0A
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German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
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EP2664076A1 (en
EP2664076A4 (en
Inventor
Per-Erik Eriksson
Chenguang Lu
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Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
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Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B3/00—Line transmission systems
    • H04B3/02—Details
    • H04B3/32—Reducing cross-talk, e.g. by compensating
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B3/00—Line transmission systems
    • H04B3/02—Details
    • H04B3/46—Monitoring; Testing
    • H04B3/487—Testing crosstalk effects

Definitions

  • the invention relates to reducing crosstalk between modems connected to a set of communication lines. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and a computer program product for limiting crosstalk between modems connected to a set of communication lines as well as to a device for providing access to a data communication network.
  • Modems like Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modems are normally connected to a device for providing access to a data communication network.
  • a device is typically a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) and the communication network may be the Internet.
  • DSL Digital Subscriber Line
  • DLAM Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer
  • VDSL2 Very-high-speed Digital Subscriber Line 2
  • the modems When being connected in this way the modems are connected to the device via separate communication lines, typically conductor pairs made of copper. These lines are furthermore often bundled together as a set of connection lines that is provided in a common cable leading to the device. This means that the communication lines are often placed very close to each other. There is in this regard a problem in that a communication line may be subject to crosstalk from one or more neighbouring communication lines. This limits the communication capability in that the rate at which data is transmitted is limited.
  • VDSL2 has been standardized by the Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-T) in recommendation G.993.2.
  • ITU-T has issued a further recommendation G.993.5, specifying vectoring for VDSL2.
  • Vectoring is a technique for Far-end crosstalk (FEXT) cancellation where the transmission and/or reception on communication lines in a cable where VDSL2 is used are jointly processed.
  • FEXT Far-end crosstalk
  • precoding is used, which pre-distorts the transmitted signals in such a way so that the crosstalk into other lines is cancelled as the signal propagates along the cable.
  • the received signals are post-processed to cancel the FEXT.
  • the VDSL2 FEXT crosstalk is the static noise that most severely limits the performance of VDSL2 systems.
  • the vectoring recommendation provides a way to estimate the FEXT channel in both downstream and upstream and utilize the estimated crosstalk channel to cancel the crosstalk.
  • This technique provides a significant improvement for DSL modems.
  • the legacy modems either are provided with vectoring support functionality or are provided with functionality that ignores the vectoring so as not to interfere with it.
  • the modems may be the property of end users, i.e. they may be Customer-premises equipment (CPE). These end users may very well not want any changes to be made to their modems. This means that an update or retrofit of legacy modems may very well not be possible to make.
  • CPE Customer-premises equipment
  • US 2010/0046355 describes a communication system for improved crosstalk estimation and method thereof.
  • the communication system may include a vectoring group and a central office.
  • the vectoring group includes a plurality of first communication lines and at least one second communication line.
  • the plurality of first communication lines is a different type of communication line from the at least one second communication line.
  • the central office is configured to assign the pilot sequences to each communication line within the plurality of first communication lines according to a first constraint.
  • the central office is also configured to delay sending a sync flag in response to a request until a flag sequence of the at least one second communication line satisfies a second constraint.
  • the assigned pilot sequences and sent flag sequences are orthogonal to each other based on the first and second constraints.
  • EP 2136477 describes a crosstalk estimation device comprising transmission means for transmitting a pilot sequence and reception means for receiving error feedback on one or more communication lines in a precoding group.
  • the crosstalk estimation device further comprises crosstalk estimation means for combining the pilot sequence with the error feedback in order to obtain a crosstalk estimation between the communication lines.
  • the device further comprises selection means for selecting a subset of one or more communication lines from the precoding group.
  • the transmission means are adapted to transmit the pilot sequence only on the subset.
  • US 2009/0175156 describes a method for determining coupling coefficients between at least two communication lines, comprising: providing a respective pilot signal for at least one of the at least two communication lines, adding a respective test symbol to the respective pilot signals of at least one first link of the at least two communication links to form a respective combined signal and transmitting the respective combined signal.
  • the invention is therefore directed towards stopping modems that do not support vectoring from interfering with such vectoring performed in relation to other modems that do support vectoring.
  • One object of the invention is thus to provide a method for limiting crosstalk between modems connected to a set of communication lines, which stops modems that do not support vectoring from interfering with cross-talk limitation that uses vectoring.
  • This object is according to a first aspect of the invention achieved through a method for limiting crosstalk between modems connected to a set of communication lines.
  • a first group of modems including at least one modem connected to a first communication line and the modems of the first group support vectoring.
  • a second group of modems including at least one modem connected to a second communication line and the modems of the second group do not support vectoring.
  • the method is performed in a device for providing access to a data communication network and comprises:
  • Another object of the invention is to provide a device for providing access to a data communication network for modems, which device stops modems that do not support vectoring from interfering with cross-talk limitation that uses vectoring.
  • a device for providing access to a data communication network for modems This device is arranged to be connected to one end of each of a set of communication lines and the modems are connected to opposite ends of the communication lines.
  • the device comprises:
  • Another object is to provide a computer program product for limiting crosstalk between modems connected to a set of communication lines, which computer program product stops modems that do not support vectoring from interfering with cross-talk limitation that uses vectoring.
  • This object is according to the same aspect of the invention also achieved through a computer program product for limiting crosstalk between modems connected to a set of communication lines.
  • a first group of modems including at least one modem connected to a device for providing access to a data communication network for modems via a first communication line and the modems of the first group support vectoring.
  • a second group of modems including at least one modem connected to the device via a second communication line and the modems of the second group do not support vectoring.
  • the computer program product comprises computer program code on a data carrier which when run on a processor forming a pilot sequence transmission control unit of the device, causes the pilot sequence transmission control unit to:
  • the invention according to the first aspect has a number of advantages. It allows the modems in the first group to enjoy the benefits of vectoring without modems in the second group negatively influencing it. This is also obtained without any modification needed to be made of the modems in the second group.
  • the modems may be digital subscriber line modems. They may with advantage furthermore be Very-high-speed Digital Subscriber Line 2 modems.
  • the device may in turn be a digital subscriber line Access Multiplexer.
  • the investigated data sequence is the pilot sequence assigned to the second communication line.
  • the request for a change of state may furthermore be an online reconfiguration request and the provoking of a request for a change of state may be performed through changing a communication quality component of the second communication line.
  • the pilot sequence assigned to the second communication line may be an available sequence with the lowest number of value changes. Instead or additionally the assigned pilot sequence for the second communication line may be one having a first element which has an expected value.
  • the investigated element is an element of a first sequence assigned to the second communication line.
  • a second sequence also assigned to the second communication line.
  • the investigating of values, comparing of values and transmitting of an element is in the method performed for all elements of both sequences.
  • the first and second element investigating entities may be configured to investigate values
  • the comparing entity may be configured to compare values
  • the pilot sequence transmission control entity may be configured to provide elements for transmission in respect of all elements of both sequences.
  • the method further comprises comparing the elements of both sequences with a pilot sequence element selection criterion for forming a pilot sequence assigned to the second communication line and choosing, for each element position in the corresponding pilot sequence to be formed, one element from either the first or the second sequence that fulfils the pilot sequence element selection criterion.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control entity furthermore compares the elements of both sequences with a pilot sequence element selection criterion for forming a pilot sequence assigned to the second communication line and chooses, for each element position in the corresponding pilot sequence to be formed, one element from either the first or the second sequence that fulfils the pilot sequence element selection criterion.
  • the elements of the first sequence all have a first value and the elements of the second sequence all have a second opposite value.
  • the method further comprises receiving a handshake from the modem in the second group as it is being connected to the second communication line, responding to the handshake with a pilot sequence assigned to the second communication line concurrently with sending pilot sequences to the modems in the first group and performing a responding handshake only after a complete pilot sequence has been transmitted to all modems in the first group.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control unit of the device further comprises a handshaking entity configured to receive a handshake from the modem in the second group as it is being connected to the second communication line, order the pilot sequence transmission control entity to respond to the handshake with a pilot sequence assigned to the second communication line concurrently with sending pilot sequences to the modems in the first group and perform a responding handshake only after a complete pilot sequence has been transmitted to all modems in the first group.
  • a handshaking entity configured to receive a handshake from the modem in the second group as it is being connected to the second communication line, order the pilot sequence transmission control entity to respond to the handshake with a pilot sequence assigned to the second communication line concurrently with sending pilot sequences to the modems in the first group and perform a responding handshake only after a complete pilot sequence has been transmitted to all modems in the first group.
  • the method further comprises sending a signal for fast channel estimation to one modem in the first group in a part of a modem initialization procedure assigned to echo-canceller settings and at a point in time corresponding to the synch interval of the other modems in the first group.
  • the device comprises a channel estimating entity configured to send a signal for fast channel estimation to a modem in the first group in a part of a modem initialization procedure assigned to echo-canceller settings and at a point in time corresponding to the synch interval of the other modems in the first group.
  • the method further comprises receiving from the modems in the first group quality measurements indicative of crosstalk coupling of the communication lines at the time of transmission of the pilot sequences, determining weights to be applied on transmissions on the communication lines and applying the weights on the transmissions to the modems of the first group.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control entity in the pilot sequence transmission control unit of the device is further configured to receive, from the modems in the first group, quality measurements indicative of crosstalk coupling of the communication lines at the time of transmission of the pilot sequences, determine weights to be applied on transmissions on the communication lines and order the transmitting unit to apply the weights on the transmissions to the modems of the first group.
  • An eighth aspect of the invention is directed towards a method for limiting crosstalk between modems connected to a set of communication lines.
  • a first group of modems including at least one modem connected to a first communication line and the modems of the first group support vectoring.
  • a second group of modems including at least one modem connected to a second communication line and the modems of the second group do not support vectoring.
  • the method is performed in a device for providing access to a data communication network and comprises:
  • the same aspect of the invention concerns a device for providing access to a data communication network for modems.
  • This device is arranged to be connected to one end of each of a set of communication lines and the modems are connected to opposite ends of the communication lines.
  • There is a first group of modems including at least one modem connected to the device via a first communication line and the modems of the first group support vectoring.
  • the device comprises:
  • a ninth aspect of the invention is concerned with the selection of pilot sequences for modems in the second group.
  • a method for limiting crosstalk between modems connected to a set of communication lines There is here a first group of modems including at least one modem connected to a first communication line and the modems of the first group support vectoring. There is also a second group of modems including at least one modem connected to a second communication line and the modems of the second group do not support vectoring.
  • the method is performed in a device for providing access to a data communication network and comprises:
  • a device for providing access to a data communication network for modems This device is arranged to be connected to one end of each of a set of communication lines and the modems are connected to opposite ends of the communication lines.
  • the device comprises:
  • the lowest possible number of changes may be zero. This can also be combined with the first element of the pilot sequence having a value that the modem in the second group expects to receive in a synchronisation interval.
  • the possible element values may here be +1 or -1.
  • a tenth aspect of the invention is concerned with the selection of pilot sequences.
  • a method for limiting crosstalk between modems connected to a set of communication lines There is here a first group of modems including at least one modem connected to a first communication line and the modems of the first group support vectoring. There is also a second group of modems including at least one modem connected to a second communication line and the modems of the second group do not support vectoring.
  • the method is performed in a device for providing access to a data communication network and comprises:
  • a device for providing access to a data communication network for modems This device is arranged to be connected to one end of each of a set of communication lines and the modems are connected to opposite ends of the communication lines.
  • the device comprises:
  • the tenth aspect may be varied in that the selection criterion may prescribe that half of the formed pilot sequence is supposed to have one value and half the opposite value.
  • the transmissions of the first and second sequences may furthermore each be made simultaneously with the transmission of pilot sequences assigned to the modems in the first group.
  • the tenth aspect may furthermore be varied through the pilot sequence transmission control entity receiving, from the modems in the first group, quality measurements indicative of crosstalk coupling of the communication lines at the time of transmission of the first and second sequences and only selecting measurements that relate to the chosen elements of the first and second sequences for performing crosstalk limitation activities in relation to said communication line.
  • the tenth aspect may be further varied through there being at least two modems in the second group.
  • the communication line leading to a first of the modems in the second group is assigned a pilot sequence lacking changes in element values and with all elements having a value expected by the first the modem to appear in a synchronisation interval.
  • the communication line leading to the second modem in the second group is then provided with a pilot sequence according to the twelfth aspect.
  • a thirteenth aspect that is based on both the tenth and twelfth aspect, there are more than two modems in the second group.
  • the communication line leading to one of the modems in the second group is provided with a pilot sequence according to the principles of the twelfth aspect, while the communication lines leading to all the other modems in the second group are assigned the same pilot sequence lacking changes in element values and with all elements having a value expected by the first the modem to appear in a synchronisation interval.
  • This type of assigning may then be iteratively repeated for all communication lines leading to modems in the second group until all have been assigned a pilot sequence according to the principles of the twelfth aspect.
  • the value expected by said modem may be changed through provoking the modem to make a request for a change of state, such as an OLR request.
  • the modem in question when the modem in question expects the element value, it may be sent without problems.
  • a pilot matrix may be defined as matrix having column vectors and row vectors.
  • Each column vector of the pilot matrix corresponds to a pilot symbol sequence to be sent to a particular communication line.
  • Each row vector of the pilot matrix corresponds to a set of symbols to be transmitted simultaneously (in a SYNCH interval) to communication lines of a vectoring group, where a vectoring group is made up of modems connected to a device for proving access to a data communication network, where the modems are to be passively or actively involved in vectoring.
  • the pilot matrix has a number of columns equal to the number of communication lines connected to the device and a number of rows equal to the length of the pilot sequences-
  • a legacy pilot combination of a row of a pilot matrix is here defined as a sub-vector of the row vector of the pilot matrix, consisting of the elements of that row vector which reside in the columns corresponding to communication lines to which modems in the second group are connected.
  • a legacy expected combination is here defined as a row vector where the elements are the symbols which the respective modems in the second group expect to receive in the SYNCH intervals.
  • the following steps may be repeated transmitting row(s) if any, of a pilot matrix for which a legacy pilot combination matches a legacy expected combination to the communication lines, and when there are no such rows left to transmit, provoking one or more modems in the second group to request a change of state such that the legacy expected combination changes to match the legacy pilot combination of one or more rows until all the rows of the pilot matrix have been transmitted.
  • the invention concerns the reduction of cross talk between modems being connected to a device for providing access to a data communication network.
  • the invention will in the following be described in relation to providing access to the Internet for Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modems via the device.
  • DSL Digital Subscriber Line
  • the device will in the following be described in relation to a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM).
  • DSLAM Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer
  • the modems are here furthermore provided in two groups: a first group supporting vectoring and a second group that does not support vectoring. It should here be realized that the invention is not limited to DSL modems but can be used also on other types of modems. For this reason it should also be realized that the device can be another type of device than a DSLAM.
  • Fig. 1 schematically shows a device 10 for providing access to a data communication network (not shown) in the form of a DSLAM and being connected to a number of modems 22, 24, 26, 28.
  • the device 10 is here connected to one end of each of a set of communication lines 20, 18, 16 and 14 and the modems 22, 24, 26 and 28 are connected to opposite ends of the communication lines.
  • These communication lines which may be Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) communication lines may be conductor pairs made of copper and may furthermore be provided as a set of communication lines which are bundled together in a cable 12.
  • POTS Plain Old Telephone Service
  • the modems connected to the DSLAM 10 here include a first group of modems supporting vectoring and second group of modems that do not support vectoring.
  • the first group comprises a first, second and a third modem 22, 24 and 26, while the second group comprises a fourth modem 28.
  • the modems in the second group are of an older type than the modems in the first group and are therefore also sometimes termed legacy modems.
  • the DSLAM comprises a pilot sequence transmission control unit 36 connected to a communication interface 30 via a transmitting unit 32 as well as via a receiving unit 34.
  • the communication interface 30 is in turn connected to each of the communication lines 14, 16, 18 and 20.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control unit 36 furthermore includes a number of entities. There is here a first element investigating entity 38, a second element investigating entity 40, a decision entity 42, a pilot sequence transmission control entity 48, a handshaking entity 44 and a channel estimating entity 46.
  • the first and second element investigating entities 38 and 40 are both connected to the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48.
  • the handshaking entity 44 and the channel estimating entity 46 are connected to the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 as are the first and second element investigating entities 38 and 40.
  • VDSL2 Very-high-speed Digital Subscriber Line 2
  • ITU-T International Telecommunications Union
  • ITU-T has issued a further recommendation G.993.5, which specifies how vectoring can be used in VDSL2. Also this later recommendation G993.5 is herein incorporated by reference.
  • the modems in the first group are in the exemplifying embodiments to be described here modems that support vectoring, i.e. they operate according to both the above described recommendations.
  • the modems in the second group do not support vectoring and are in the exemplifying embodiments described here modems only operating according to the ITU-T recommendation G.993.2.
  • Fig. 3 schematically shows a superframe SF as specified by G.993.2. with a number of signals, where the signals are discrete multitone (DMT) symbols being modulated on tones.
  • DMT discrete multitone
  • This last symbol is according to the ITU-T recommendation G.993.5 used for transmitting pilot sequences that are orthogonal to each other, which the modems that support vectoring use to provide signals indicative of crosstalk coupling in the communication lines.
  • These signals are typically in the form of error samples, which are used by the DSLAM to estimate the FEXT channel in order to calculate pre-coder coefficients used for cancelling crosstalk when transmitting to the modems in the first group.
  • the modems in the first group are thus actively involved in vectoring.
  • the modems of the second group do not recognize this and can therefore not receive the benefits of vectoring. Furthermore, they also expect the SYNCH symbol to have a certain value and if it does not, this may results in an error which could trigger a re-initialization of the modem. This latter case is serious in that it also makes vectoring impossible for the modems that do support it.
  • This problem can be solved through retrofitting the modems in the second group with functionality that stops the modems from interfering with the vectoring.
  • this may be hard to implement since they are typically the property of end users, i.e. they may be Customer-premises equipment (CPE). These end users may refuse tampering or change of the modems. This means that other measures need to be made.
  • CPE Customer-premises equipment
  • this is done through transmitting data to a modem in the second group in at least a synchronisation interval.
  • the whole of the synchronization interval is used, i.e. the complete synch symbol is used for this data.
  • Such transmitted data is used in a pilot sequence assigned to the communication line of the modem in the second group.
  • the modem in the second group believes that this data is part of a SYNCH symbol having an expected SYNCH symbol element value. In this way the modem in the second group is passively involved in vectoring, in that their communication lines are used for vectoring while the modems do not participate through sending error samples.
  • fig. 4 shows a flow chart of a number of method steps in a method according to a first embodiment of the invention.
  • all modems are in showtime, i.e. they are all involved in communication sessions with the DSLAM 10.
  • a Far-end crosstalk (FEXT) cancellation channel is provided in the Synchronisation interval SYNCH of a super frame SF.
  • the legacy modem 28 does expect that the elements of the symbol in the SYNCH interval have a certain value. This means that there will most probably occur problems if a pilot sequence is transmitted to a legacy modem in the SYNCH interval.
  • the expected value mentioned above is normally initially the value of +1. This means that each symbol element in the SYNCH interval is according to ITU-T recommendation G.993.2 initially the value of +1.
  • the modems may send requests for a change of state, i.e. a change of communication state on the communication line.
  • a request for a change of state may be an online reconfiguration request (OLR).
  • OLR online reconfiguration request
  • These requests can be sent for various reasons to the DSLAM, where an on-line reconfiguration request may be a request for a bit swap, seamless rate adaption (SRA) or emergency rate reduction (SOS) and could thus concern a change of the data rate.
  • SRA seamless rate adaption
  • SOS emergency rate reduction
  • the quality component can be such things a power level, signal to noise ratio and bit error rate.
  • the DSLAM acknowledges the reception of such a request and indicates that the change will take effect within a given number of symbols through changing the sign of the elements of the SYNCH interval. If such a request is not acknowledged the modem continues to send requests. Therefore when a request is acknowledged there is a symbol element value change and the new symbol element value should then be continued to be used after the acknowledgement of the request. This means that after having sent an on-line reconfiguration request, the legacy modem expects to receive a change in symbol element value as an acknowledgement and thereafter the continued use of this new symbol element value until a new on-line reconfiguration request is being sent.
  • Pilot sequences are random patterns modulating a set of the tones in the sync-symbols.
  • a pilot sequence is here assigned to the second communication line 16 to which the legacy modem 28 is connected, which sequence is with advantage orthogonal to other pilot sequences assigned to the other lines 14, 18 and 20 leading to the modems in the first group, i.e. leading to the modems supporting vectoring.
  • This sequence may here be stored in the second element investigating entity 40 of the pilot sequence transmission control unit 36, while corresponding expected SYNCH symbol element values may be stored in the first element investigating entity 38. These may be pre-stored.
  • the data is provided by the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 to these entities.
  • the first element investigating element 38 investigates the expected value of an element in a synchronisation interval (SYNCH) to be received or that is expected by the legacy modem, step 50, and sends the result of the investigation to the decision entity 42.
  • the second element investigating entity 40 investigates the value of an element of at least one data sequence assigned to the second communication line.
  • This data sequence is in this first embodiment of the invention the pilot sequence element value assigned to the communication line of the legacy modem, step 52.
  • the second element investigating entity 40 then sends the result to the decision entity 42.
  • the decision entity 42 thereafter compares these two values with each other and if they correspond and in this case if they are the same, step 54, for instance if both have the value of +1, then the decision entity 42 selects the element of the investigated data sequence element for transmission, step 59.
  • the decision entity 42 then informs the transmission control entity 48 about the selection.
  • the transmission control entity 48 thereafter fetches the selected symbol element and transmits it to the legacy modem 28 via the second communication line 16 using the transmitting unit 32 and communication interface 30.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 transmits one element of all pilot sequences to the modems, step 60.
  • the other sequences can here be stored in the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 itself or in separate pilot sequence symbol storages.
  • the decision entity 42 if the decision entity 42 finds that the values do not correspond to each other, step 54, and here that they are opposite, where one may have the value of +1 and the other the value of -1, the decision entity 42 then provokes the legacy modem to request a change of state and here to send an OLR request, step 56. This may be done through ordering the transmitting unit 32 to change a communication quality component of the second communication line 16, such as lowering the noise margin. This may be performed through lowering the power at which transmission is made, or lowering the quality through some other measure such as introducing more noise. The decision entity 42 then awaits such a request.
  • This change in quality will be detected by the legacy modem, which will send an on line request for instance requesting a change of bitrate.
  • a change of state request/OLR is then received by the pilot sequence transmission control element 48 via the communication interface 30 and the receiving unit 34 and forwarded to the decision entity 42.
  • the decision entity receives the request, step 58.
  • it orders the second element investigating entity 40 to change the setting of the expected element value to the opposite of what was previously expected and thereafter selects the pilot sequence element from the first element investigating element 38, step 59, and orders the pilot sequence transmission control entity to transmit it together with the corresponding elements of the other pilot sequences, step 60.
  • the legacy modem will believe it receives the acknowledgment of the request it sent, when in fact it actually received a symbol element in the pilot sequence.
  • pilot sequence transmission control unit continues to operate in this way until all of the pilot sequences have been transmitted to the modems.
  • the modems in the first group constitutes a vectoring group and provides quality measurements indicative of crosstalk coupling based on the orthogonal pilot sequences. These quality measurements are typically error samples.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 receives the quality measurements indicate of crosstalk coupling from the modems 22, 24 and 26 of the first group via the communication interface 30 and receiving unit 34, step 62. As mentioned earlier, these measurements are typically error samples. Based on these error samples the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 then determines weights to be applied to the signals transmitted on the communication lines 14, 18 and 20 leading to the modems in the first group, step 64. These weights are then supplied to the transmitting unit 32, which applies them on the signals intended for the modems in the first group, step 66, and then transmits these weighted signals to the modems in the first group.
  • weights have here been selected for cancelling cross-talk on theses lines 14, 18 and 20 and thus to enhance the efficiency of the communication on the lines leading to the modems in the first group. How weights are selected is described in more detail in the ITU-T recommendation G.993.5.
  • the invention has a number of advantages. It allows the modems in the first group to enjoy the benefits of vectoring without modems in the second group negatively influencing this vectoring. This is also obtained without any modification needed to be made of the modems in the second group. Since state change requests made from the legacy modem are according to the first embodiment of the invention provoked whenever the expected SYNCH interval symbol element value does not correspond to a pilot sequence symbol element value to be sent, the transmission of the pilot sequence is furthermore fast.
  • fig. 6 shows a flow chart of a method according to a second embodiment useful for understanding the invention, but outside the scope thereof.
  • the first element investigating entity 38 investigates the expected synch symbol element value, step 68
  • the second element investigating entity 40 investigates the pilot sequence symbol element value, step 70, and forwards their results to the decision entity 42 in the same way as in the first embodiment.
  • the decision entity 42 also here determines if the values correspond or not, here that they are the same, step 72.
  • the pilot sequence symbol element is selected by the decision entity 42 in the same way as in the first embodiment and one element of all pilot sequences transmitted by the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48, step 76, also in the same way as earlier described. However, if they do not correspond, step 72, the decision entity 42 decides to postpone transmission of the pilot sequence symbol element.
  • step 74 It therefore waits until the values correspond to each other, step 74. It therefore informs the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 that no pilot sequence elements need to be sent.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 may instead transmit the value that is expected in the SYNCH interval. However, this value is no part of the pilot sequence. It is here possible that elements of the other pilot sequences are being sent while the decision entity 42 is waiting. However, these elements would in this case have to be resent later when there is a correspondence of symbol element values in relation to the second communication line 16.
  • the decision entity 42 thus waits until there is a change in expected SYNCH interval symbol element value, which change may again be caused by a request for a change of state. It thus waits until a subsequent synchronisation interval is reached after the expected value corresponds to the intended pilot sequence element value.
  • the request for a change of state would be a request sent by the legacy modem on its own initiative uninfluenced by the DSLAM.
  • This second embodiment has the further advantage of avoiding manipulation of the legacy modem.
  • the legacy modem thus operates more smoothly than in the first embodiment.
  • this embodiment may lead to a very long time passing in order to transfer a whole pilot sequence. It might therefore be of interest to reduce this time.
  • One thing that is important in this respect is the number of changes between symbol element values in the pilot sequence and another is what the first symbol element value is in the sequence.
  • the pilot sequence selected for a legacy modem is the one of the possible pilot sequences that has the least amount of value changes. In one special case there are no changes at all but the whole sequence has the same value. This can be combined with or instead it is possible that a pilot sequence selected for a legacy modem starts with a symbol element value that is the same as that which a legacy modem initially expects in the SYNCH interval.
  • pilot sequences used for estimating a weight or crosstalk coupling coefficient should be orthogonal to each other.
  • the pilot sequence assigned to the communication line of this modem have only one symbol element value, which may be either +1 or -1.
  • the +1 or -1 on all synch symbols should be reserved to be used only by lines leading to modems of the second group, i.e. to modems that do not support vectoring.
  • SYNCH symbols state transitions of the SYNCH symbols, i.e. transitions from +1 to - 1 or from -1 to +1.
  • One variation of this scheme is based on the assumption that the crosstalk among lines leading to the first group of modems supporting vectoring is sufficiently cancelled, which means that a pilot sequence transmitted to a legacy modem does not have to be orthogonal to the pilot sequences transmitted on the lines leading to the modems in the first group, i.e. to the modems supporting vectoring.
  • quality measurements indicative of crosstalk coupling such as error samples are collected, it is only the communication lines leading to the legacy modems that will contribute to the error samples.
  • the data transmitted to the modems in the second group has a change of element value as the modems in the first group receive pilot sequences.
  • This formed pilot sequence may also be termed a hybrid pilot sequence.
  • the elements of one of the sequences have all one of the values or states of +1 or -1 and the elements of the other the opposite value or state.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 of the pilot sequence transmission control unit 36 transmits the first sequence S1, step 92, which may typically be done with the help of the transmitting unit 32. Also here there may be a checking of element values against expected SYNCH element values performed by the entities 38, 40 and 42. However the elements of this first sequence may be pre-selected to have values that the legacy modem expects. It is therefore possible that a check is only made after the first sequence has been transmitted. Thereafter the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 makes sure that the second sequence S2 is transmitted, step 94. However, all elements of this second sequence S2 have the opposite value of the elements of the first sequence S1. This means that the transmission of the second sequence S2 cannot be performed until after the legacy modem has requested a state change.
  • Such a request may be provoked or unprovoked.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control unit may provoke the state change or wait until the legacy modem requests it.
  • the modems in the first group here receive orthogonal pilot sequences at the same time. This means that each pilot sequence assigned to a modem in the first group is transmitted twice, once together with the first sequence and then again together with the second sequence. Furthermore, error samples are returned for each of these transmitted elements of both the first and the second sequences. These may be stored in the pilot sequence transmission control entity or in a separate memory which this entity has access to.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 compares the elements of the two sequences with a pilot sequence element selection criterion used for forming a pilot sequence assigned to the second communication line. This means that the elements of corresponding sequence positions are combined for providing resulting combinations forming a pilot sequence assigned to the second communication line.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control entity therefore selects one element in each sequence, where these elements have the same positions in relation to each other in the sequences, step 96. They may initially be the elements in the first positions of the sequences. These selected elements are then compared with the selection criterion, step 98, and then the one of them that fulfils this criterion is chosen, step 100. It thus chooses one element from either the first or the second sequence that fulfils the pilot sequence element selection criterion. Typically the one is chosen which has a value that is the same as that of the assigned pilot sequence element.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control entity then investigates if the elements were the last of the sequences, step 102, and if not a new element is selected in each sequence, step 104, for instance the elements in the second positions of the two sequences. This then continues until all elements have been compared. This means that the step of choosing is performed for each element position in the pilot sequence that is to be formed If however the compared elements were the last of the sequences, step 102, then the pilot sequence transmission control entity selects measurements provided by the modems in the first group, i.e. measurements provided by the modems 22, 24 and 26, step 106. More particularly the measurements selected are only those measurements that have been made in relation to the chosen sequence elements.
  • element values of these two sequences are chosen for forming one pilot sequence of the legacy modem, where half may be taken from the first sequence and the other half from the second sequence.
  • the measurements indicative of crosstalk coupling were received from all modems in the first group in relation to the complete transmitted sequences. However, only the measurements that have been obtained in relation to chosen elements are selected. This means that only these measurements are used when determining weights, i.e. when determining measures to be applied for cancelling crosstalk coupling, in relation to the second communication line.
  • the pilot sequence assigned to one of the lines is one without state transitions, i.e. one having element values of either only +1 or -1, while the other line has two sequences that together are used for forming one pilot sequence, for instance in the above described manner.
  • the total number of state change requests for obtaining complete symbol sequences is here limited to two or less.
  • the following principle may be used for updating crosstalk estimation from two legacy modems at one time.
  • this Per Line channel estimation may be performed through iteratively alternating pilot sequences on these N communication lines according to the following principle.
  • the special pilot sequence +1 +1 ... +1 (reserved for communication lines leading to legacy modems) is transmitted on lines 1 - (N-1) simultaneously with two sequences on line N, i.e. a first sequence having one element value, +1 or -1 followed by a second sequence having the opposite sign on an Nth line.
  • Measurements indicative of crosstalk coupling like error samples, are then obtained from the communication lines leading to the modems supporting vectoring.
  • elements of the sequences are chosen for forming a pilot sequence of the Nth line and the error samples obtained in relation to the transmission of the chosen elements selected for use in vectoring.
  • next another line like for instance line N-1, may receive the pair of sequences and the other lines the special pilot sequence.
  • the measurements indicative of crosstalk coupling are then obtained from the communication lines leading to the modems supporting vectoring.
  • the total time required will be less than or equal to N*(1 single line OLR transit + 1 multi-line OLR transit) N*2 pilot sequence long error sample acquisition time.
  • the time saving will be approximately N/2 ⁇ N time of state transition only. For 4 lines: 1/2 time 8 lines:1/16 time.
  • the set of pilot sequences to be transmitted to the communication lines of a vectoring group may for purposes of measuring crosstalk coefficients be described by a pilot matrix.
  • a vectoring group is typically all the modems that are involved in vectoring, actively or passively.
  • a pilot matrix furthermore comprises row vectors and column vectors. Each column vector of the pilot matrix corresponds to the symbol sequence to be sent to a particular communication line. Each row vector of the pilot matrix corresponds to a set of symbols to be transmitted simultaneously (in a SYNCH interval) to the communication lines in the vectoring group.
  • the pilot matrix has a number of columns equal to the number of lines in the vectoring group and a number of rows equal to the length of the pilot sequences.
  • pilot sequences are orthogonal to each other, meaning that the scalar product of any two column vectors in the pilot matrix is zero.
  • a transceiver unit at the Optical network unit may be provided by the DSLAM.
  • the VTU-O transmits the rows of the pilot matrix to the lines of the vectoring group, and receives (from the vectoring modems only) measurements indicate of cross-talk coupling in the form of error samples, one for each line, for each sent row of the pilot matrix.
  • the received error samples may be described by an error sample matrix, where each column corresponds to a line to which a vectoring modem, i.e. a modem in the first group, is connected, and each row holds the error samples received in response to the sending of a row of the pilot matrix.
  • the error sample matrix has a number of rows equal to the length of the pilot sequences, and a number of columns equal to the number of lines to which vectoring modems are connected.
  • the legacy pilot combination of a particular row of the pilot matrix is here defined as a sub-vector of the row vector of the pilot matrix, consisting of the elements of that row vector which reside in the columns corresponding to lines to which legacy modems are connected.
  • the legacy expected combination is here defined as a row vector where the elements are the symbols which the respective legacy modems expect to receive in the SYNCH intervals.
  • the legacy pilot symbol combination of a row of the pilot matrix matches the legacy expected symbol combination, then that row of the pilot matrix may be sent without causing any legacy modem to consider the received value as erroneous.
  • the pilot matrix needs to be sent. However, if the legacy pilot combination of a sent row does not match the legacy expected combination, then errors may occur, which is undesirable.
  • the VTU-O may provoke one or more of the legacy modems to request a change of state (e.g. OLR request) which causes them to expect a different combination as a result of the execution of the request.
  • the VTU-O may change a communication quality component such as the output power for a particular tone, so as to cause the legacy modem to request a change of state such as making an OLR request.
  • the modem or modems to be so provoked are chosen so that the new legacy expected combination will match the legacy pilot combination of a row of the pilot matrix which is to be sent.
  • a legacy modem makes a request for a state change (such as an OLR request) by its own initiative (e.g. because of changing line conditions), then transmission simply continues with other rows of the pilot matrix for which the legacy pilot combination now matches the legacy expected combination.
  • a state change such as an OLR request
  • one or more modems are provoked to request a change of state (e.g. OLR request) such that the new legacy expected combination will match the legacy pilot combination for one or more unsent rows of the pilot matrix.
  • a change of state e.g. OLR request
  • pilot sequences for the legacy modems such that the number of legacy pilot combinations is as low as possible. For example, one of those pilot sequences may be selected as a sequence where the elements all have the same value.
  • VTU-O calculates the crosstalk coefficients using known methods.
  • pilot matrix may be transmitted to the lines as follows.
  • step 108 the VTU-O checks if there are rows in the pilot matrix which need to be sent. If not, the sending of the pilot matrix is finished, step 114.
  • the VTU-O checks if there are any rows of the pilot matrix which need to be sent and for which the legacy pilot combination matches the legacy expected combination, step 110. If there is one or more such rows, one of them is transmitted to the lines, step 112, and the process repeats from step 108.
  • step 116 If there are no such rows, one or more OLR requests are provoked, step 116.
  • step 110 it is again checked if there are matching rows, step 110. If the provocation of the OLR request(s) was successful and there was no spontaneous OLR request from another legacy modem, then there will be matching row(s) to be transmitted. If this is the case, the process continues with step 112, and so on. If it is not the case, then further OLR provocations must be done until the legacy expected combination matches the legacy pilot combination of a row to be sent.
  • the first and second embodiments as well as variations described above were related to reducing cross talk in case all modems were in showtime, i.e. all were actively receiving and/or transmitting data from and to the DSLAM 10.
  • a legacy modem connects to a DSLAM when there are already modems in the first group being in showtime. This may be handled in a different way.
  • a further variation of the invention is concerned with this situation.
  • a flow chart of a number of method steps for handling this situation is schematically shown in fig. 7 .
  • the legacy modem 28 sends a handshake signal to the DSLAM 10.
  • the DSLAM thus receives a handshake signal, step 78.
  • This handshake signal is furthermore forwarded to the handshaking entity 44 via the receiving unit 34 and communication interface 30.
  • the handshaking entity 44 then makes sure that no responding handshake is sent. Instead it orders the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 to respond to the handshake with a pilot sequence being assigned to the second communication line 16, step 80.
  • This pilot sequence has to be sent at the same time as the other pilot sequences are being sent to the first group of modems. This means that even though there is no limitation to transmitting in a SYNCH interval on the second communication line 16 leading to the legacy modem 28, the pilot sequence does still have to be transmitted simultaneously with the pilot sequences of the modems in the first group, and these may be transmitted in SYNCH intervals.
  • the handshaking entity 44 then monitors the transmission of the pilot sequence by the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48, and as long as a complete sequence has not been transmitted, step 84, it continues to wait.
  • the handshaking entity 44 orders the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 to respond to the handshake with a response handshake signal, step 86. It can thus be seen that the handshaking entity 44 receives a handshake from the modem in the second group as it is being connected to the first communication line, orders the pilot sequence transmission control entity to respond to the handshake with the pilot sequence concurrently with sending pilot sequences to the modems in the first group and performs a responding handshake only after a complete pilot sequence has been transmitted to all modems in the first group
  • the legacy modem gets connected to the DSLAM in a known way as is for instance described in the ITU-T recommendation G.993.2.
  • the operation of the legacy modem is not influenced by this activity. It cannot decipher the pilot sequence it received. However, it does understand that the data it receives is no responding handshake. It therefore waits for a responding handshake. It may however continue to send handshaking signals.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control unit further comprises a channel estimating entity 46.
  • This channel estimating entity 48 may order the pilot sequence transmission control entity 48 to send a signal for fast channel estimation to a modem in the first group.
  • This modem initialization procedure is here thus a VDSL2 initialization procedure.
  • This signal will normally have to be transmitted in the intervals corresponding to the synch interval of the other active modems. It is thus transmitted at a point in time corresponding to the synch interval of the other modems in the first group. This may allow a faster transmission of pilot sequences and thus a faster cancellation of cross-talk and entering of show time for the legacy modem.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control unit and its entities may with advantage be provided in the form of a processor with associated program memory including computer program code for performing the functionality of the pilot sequence transmission control unit. It should be realized that this unit may also be provided in the form of hardware, like for instance in the form of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit(ASIC).
  • the computer program code may also be provided on a computer-readable means, for instance in the form of a data carrier, like a CD ROM disc or a memory stick, which will implement the function of the above-described pilot sequence transmission control unit when being loaded into the above-mentioned program memory and run by the processor.
  • a computer program product in the form of a CD ROM disc 88 with such a computer program code 90 is schematically shown in fig. 8 .
  • the transmitting unit may typically be a conventional VDSL2 coding an modulating unit, which modulates and transmits data to the modems, while the receiving unit may be a conventional VDSL2 decoding and demodulating unit, which receives and demodulates data from the modems.
  • the communication interface may furthermore be a conventional subscriber line interface.
  • the pilot sequence transmission control unit may for instance be provided without handshaking and channel estimating entities. It is also possible that the at least one data sequence being investigated is not a pilot sequence but another sequence used for obtaining the pilot sequence. It is furthermore possible that the transmission of elements used in pilot sequences are transmitted before the comparison instead of after as in the first and second embodiments. Furthermore, in the second embodiment described above, the decision entity selected pilot sequence elements for transmission as soon as the comparison indicated that element values corresponded to each other. It should however be realized that that it may wait some before transmitting a pilot sequence element.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)
  • Digital Transmission Methods That Use Modulated Carrier Waves (AREA)
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EP11855426.0A 2011-01-14 2011-01-14 Crosstalk limitation between modems Not-in-force EP2664076B1 (en)

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CN103299553B (zh) 2015-08-12
EP2664076A4 (en) 2016-03-23
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US20120183026A1 (en) 2012-07-19
CN103299553A (zh) 2013-09-11

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